Coating apparatus



06f 4, 1966 M. D. GIARDlNo ETAL 3,276,695

COATING APPARATUS Filed sept. 29, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z/ v V EN TELF/5 f77. L7. @FWD/NU f2?. VHN DE@ #mm-77's H. z/mmsQ/WQN .E E I M1 772m/ T'TUf-F'NE'Q OC- 4, 1966 M. D. GIARDINO ETAL 3,276,695

COATING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 29, 1965 Oct 4, 1966 n M. D. GIARDINO ETAL 3,276,695

GOATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 29, 1965 6 Sheets-me?. 5

Oct 4, 1966 M. D. GIARDINO ETAL 3,276,695

COATING APPARATUS Filed sept. 29, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 4, 1966 Filed Sept. 29, 1965 M. D. GIARDINO ETAL COATING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 OCt- 4, 1966 M. D. GIARDINO ETAL 3,276,695

GOATING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Sept. 29, 1965 United States Patent O COATING APPARATUS Mario David Giardino, Summit, and Andrew Van Der Plaats, Pompton Lakes, NJ., and Harold Martin Zimmerman, Ephrata, Pa., assignors to Concrete Placement Systems, Inc., Union, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Sept. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 491,195 12 Claims. (Cl. 239-142) This application is a continuation-in-part of kco-pending application Serial No. 411,329, filed November 16, 1964.

This invention relates to apparatus for applying a coating, and more particularly, to apparatus for rapidly applying a coating of heavy, thick material.

It h-as been found that a coating of finely-pulverized slag mixed with a limited quantity of water and a small amount of asbestos produce a valuable coating for molds in which steel ingots are to be cast. By Way of illustration, such coating can contain 100 pounds of finelydivided slag, approximately 30 to 40 pounds of water, and 4 to 10 pounds of asbestos. The use of such a mixture as a mold coating makes possible Ia superior steel ingot that is more readily removed from the mold and that has an improved Iskin texture thereby reducing the need forsurface conditioning and substantially lowering the rejection factor of completed rolled products.

A mixture of pulverized slag which contains just sufcient water to be a thick, heavy, putty-like material, can readily be seen to be a very diicult material to apply rapidly to the surface of a mold. Such a slag containing material has-virtually no lubricating properties and cannot be :applied with existing cement applying equipment. Although the benefits of such a coating have been known, no apparatus was available to apply the coating with suilicieut speed to make use of the lcoating economicallyjfeasible. Therefore, a vastly benecial process to the steel industry could at best be only fused on a limited scale due to lack of suitable equipment. As a result, however, of this invention, a mold which previously took over 20 minutes to coat now be coated in well kunder one minute.

In applying the coating, it is essential that the apparatus be capable of evenly applying the coating. It is also` required that a maximum amount of the material applied remain in contact with the coating and not rebound. When rebounding of the material occurs, the coating which has failed to adhere drops to the bottom of the mold interfering with proper casting.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for preparing and rapidly applying a coating of heavy thick material.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for applying a coating which can be remotely operated.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for evenly applying a coating.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for applying a coating of a preselected thickness.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for applying a heavy, thick material with a minimum of rebounding of the material applied.

Another object is to provide an apparatus which can economically apply a coating to a mold for casting ingots.

Another object is to provide a spray assembly capable of spraying a heavy, thick material.

Another object is to provide -a positioning assembly capable of remotely positioning a spray assembly within a mold.

3,276,695 Patented Oct. 4, 1966 "lee Another object is to provide a mixing and pumping assembly capable of mixing and pumping a heavy, thick material.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the advantages of this invention may be had by referring to the specifications and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view showing the complete assembly of the apparatus.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-section taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a schematic view of the drive mechanism utilized by the invention.

FIGURE 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a spray assembly utilized in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a baille plate utilized within the spray assembly.

FIGURE 7 is an isometric view of the spray assembly shown in FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 8 is an isometric view showing the spray assembly and a possible path of travel in applying a coating to the inside of -a mold. y

Referring now to FIGURE 1, the coating apparatus has a spraying assembly 11, a placement assembly 13, and a mixing and pumping assembly 15. 'Ihe apparatus is mounted on a cart 16.

As best seen in FIGURE 2, a premixing compartment 17 is located at the top of the mixing and pumping assembly 15. Encasing the sides of the premixing compartment 17 and extending below it is a main mixing cornpartment 19. The premixing compartment 17 is cylindri'cal in form and has an opening 21V extending longitudinally across it. The premixing compartment 17 is also rotatable mounted on an axis 23 and has a handle 25 rigidly secured to it to rotate the premixing compat- In operation, a supply of constituents of the material 18 to be sprayed is fed into the premixing compartment 17 through the opening 21. As has been previously stated, a suitable mixtu-re would include pounds of nely-divided slag, between 30 and 40 pounds of water, and four to ten pounds of asbestos but other variations of quantity and constituents are possible. Following mixing of the material by the paddles 27, the handle 25 isy manually rotated thereby inverting the premixing cornpartment 17 and causing the material 18 to drop to the main mixing compartment 19 Where further mixing of the material is accomplished by rotating paddles 29 mounted on an axis 31.

Located adjacent the bottom of the main mixing compartment 19 is an auger conveyor 33 which receives the, coating material through an Vopening 34. It should be noted, as best seen in FIGURE 2, that the opening 34 is so located in relation to the direction of rotation of` the paddles 29, as indicated by the directional arrows, that the material is constantly forced into the auger 33 providing space within the auger 33 is available. As best seen in FIGURE 3, the auger conveyor 33 forces the material into a positive displacement pump 35 connected to the dis- -charge end 36 of the auger 33. Use of the auger 33 avoids the formation of air pockets in the positive displacement pump 35. The material 18 leaves the positive displacement pump through an end opening 32.

As shown in schematic form in FIGURE 4, an electric motor 37 or other suitable source of rotating power is used to drive both paddles 27, 29 and the auger 33 along with the positive displacement pump 35. The motor 37 has a shaft 38 on which a sprocket wheel 39 is mounted. The sprocket wheel 39 is used to drive a hydraulic pump 42 'through a chain`40 and sprocket 41. The hydraulic pump 42 is utilized in operation of the placement assembly 13 as will hereinafter be explained. Also located on the shaft 38 is a `timing wheel 43 which through a timing belt 44 drives a timing wheel 45. The timing wheel 45 is mounted on a shaft 46 which drives a sprocket wheel 47. The sprocket wheel 47 through a chain 48 drives .a sprocket wheel 49 which is secured to a sprocket Wheel 50. The sprocket wheel 50 drives a sprocket wheel 51 through a chain 52. The sprocket wheel 51 is mounted on a countershaft 53 on which a sprocket wheel 54 and a sprocket wheel are also mounted. The sprocket wheel 54 drives a sprocket wheel 56 through a chain 57 while the sprocket wheel 55 drives a sprocket wheel 58 through a chain 59. The sprocket wheel 56 is connected to the axis 23 on which the premixing paddles 27 are located while the sprocket Wheel 58 is connected to the axis 31 on which the main mixing paddles 29 are located. A sprocket wheel 60 mounted on the shaft 46 drives a sprocket 61 through a chain 62. The sprocket wheel 61 is mounted on the auger 33 which is connected to the pump 35. Tension is applied to the chain 57 through an idler 63 and to the chain 62 through an idler 64.

The shaft 46 is engageable and disengageable with the sprocket 60 through a clutch means 65 attached to it which may be electrically, hydraulically, or pneumatically operated. Operation of the clutch means 65 permits operation of solely the paddles 27, 29 or operation in combination of the paddles 27, 29 and the auger conveyor 33 with the pump 35. However, regardless of the position of the clutch means 65, the hydraulic pump 42 remains engaged. In this way, the mixing operation can continue without pumping material.

Referring back to FIGURE 1, a post 71 is mounted in a vertical position at one end of the cart 16. A boom 73 extends outwardly at right angles to the post 71 and is secured to a rotatable collar 72. Rotation of the boom 73 about the post 71 is achieved by the hydraulic cylinder 74. The boom 73 fhas two sections, namely an inner section 75 and an outer section 76. The two sections, 75, 76 slideably engage one another t-o permit extension and retraction of the boom 71. Movement of the outer section 55 is accomplished by a hydraulic cylinder 77. The inner section 75 is provided with a pivot 78 connected to the rotatable collar 72 and the outer section 76 also has a pivot 79 at the end remote from the pivot 7 8. The pivot 78 is operated by a hydraulic cylinder 80 and the pivot 79 is operated by a hydraulic cylinder 81.

At the outer end of the boom 71 is a cylindrical support sleeve 82 with an inner sleeve 83 rotatably mounted within it. A platform 84 having an opening therein is secured to the upper end of the outer sleeve 82. A variable speed motor 85 preferably hydraulic is used to rotate the inner sleeve 83 t-hrough a chain drive 86. A material conduit 87 and an air conduit 88, each located parallel to one another in spaced relationship pass through the opening in the plate 84 and are secured within the inner sleeve 83. A hydraulic motor 89 mounted on the platform 84 powers a chain drive 90. The chain drive 90 operates a drum and cable (not shown) to raise and lower the inner sleeve 83 with the conduits 87, 88 therein.

A flexible hose 91 connects the pump 35 to the material tube 87. A similar exible hose 92 connects the air conduit 88 to a source of compressed air (not shown). A holder 93 supports the hoses 91, 92.

The hydraulic pump 42 previously referred to provides hydraulic fluid under pressure within a hydraulic control reservoir 94. Fluid from the reservoir is fed to the respective hydraulic cylinders 74, 77, 80, 81 and the motors 85, 89 through valves 95. An electric control box 96 is used to operate the main drive electric motor 37.

At the lower end of the conduits 87, 88, the spray assembly 11 is located. As best seen in FIGURES 5 and 6, a main block is located with a lower block 101 bolted to it. The air conduit 88 is connected to the main block 100 and a channel 102 vertically through the block 100 continues the conduit 88. An extension channel 104 in the extension block 101 directs the air flow at approximately right angles to the channel 102 and then slopes upward. An aperture 105 at the end of a tube 106 mounted in the lower block 101 directs a blast of air upward at an acute angle to the horizontal along its longitudinal axis 107.

The material conduit 87 is connected to the main block 100 and a material channel 108 extends vertically downward along the directional path of the material conduit 87. At the open end of the material channel 108, a baffle 109, preferably in the form of a flat plate, is located. The plate 109 is held in place by means of bolts 110 through holes 113 threaded into the main 'block 100. The baie plate 109 which slopes at an acute angle to the material channel 108 has a rounded or outside end 111 and a square or inside end 112. An orifice 114 in the plate 95 has a longitudinal axis 115 located on an axis of symmetry or longitudinal axis of the plate 116 which is parallel to two side edges 118 of the plate 109. The longitudinal axis of the orifice 114 is'preferably substantially at right angles to the plate 109. The material 18 being pumped through the material conduit 87 is forced through the orifice 114. The longitudinal axis 107 of the aperture 105 is directed toward a point 119 which is in the close general vicinity to the intersection of the axisl of symmetry 116 and the periphery of the orifice 114 adjacent the square end 112. The square end 112 is located closer vertically to the aperture 105 due to the acute angle A of the baffle plate 109 as shown in FIGURE 5. The square end 112 isl also located horizontally closer to the aperture 105. Accordingly, the air blast from the aperture 105 blasts the material `being fed through the orifice 114. It should be noted that the axis of symmetry 116 and the longitudinal axis 115 of the orifice 114 and the longitudinal axis 107 of the .aperture 105 lie substantially in a common plane.

As best seen in FIGURE 5, when the material conduit 87 and the air conduit 88 are vertically oriented, the baffle 109 is inclined from the horizontal by an acute angle A. The longitudinal axis 107 of t-he aperture 105 is inclined from the horizontal by an acute end B. Between the bafiie 109 and the longitudinal axis 108 there is an obtuse angle C. The angle D represents the acute angle `between the longitudinal axis 107 and the longitudinal axis 115.

When a diffusion of material over a 90 sector is desired, the angular relationships of the spraying assembly` 11 are vsubstantially as follows:

A: 20 B: 60 C: D: 50

When a diffusion of material over a 120 sector is deired, the angular relationships are substantially as folows: l

120, then turned degrees and raised. When the spray assembly 11 is lowered, the two sides extending from one corner to the opposite corner as, for example, the sides 121, 122 are coated. The spray assembly 11 is then rotated 180 degrees and the remaining two sides 123, 124 are coated with coating material as the spray assembly 11 is raised.

By controlling the rate of flow of the material 18 and the air pressure, the thickness of the coating applied can be regulated.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made by way of example and that numerous changes and modiiications in the details of construction and the combination and arrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as in the ,appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for applying a coating of heavy, thick material comprising: j

a plate having an orifice therein, said plate having an outside end and an inside end and a longitudinal axis approximately passing through the center of lsaid orifice;

means having an aperture therein with a longitudinal axis, said aperture and said plate being in a fixed spaced relationship, said longitudinal axis of said aperture and said longitudinal axis of said plate lying substantially in a common plane, said longitudinal axis of said aperture being approximately directed at the point of'intersection of the periphery of the orifice and the longitudinal axis of the plate adja- -cent said inside end, said longitudinal axis of said plate from said outside end to said point of intersection forming an obtuse angle with said longitudinal axis of said aperture, said longitudinal axis of said aperture intersecting said plate at substantially right angles in a plane including said longitudinal axis of said aperture and being at substantially right angles to said common plane;

means lfor supplying a compressed fluid to said aperture;

a premixing chamber rotatably mounted and having an open top; premixing paddles rotatably mounted within said premixing chamber; 1

a main mixing compartment located directly below said premixing chamber and having an opening at the top;

means for rotating said premixing chamber approximately one-half a revolution to invert the open top to the bottom to dump material within the premixing compartment into the main mixing compartment;

an auger conveyor adjacent lower portion of said main mixing compartment and in communication with the main mixing compartment;

main paddles rotatably mounted within said main compartment and adapted to force material within said main compartment into said auger conveyor;

pump means connected to said auger conveyor and adapted to receive material directly from t-he auger conveyor;

means for connecting said pump means to said orifice;

and

means for driving said premixing paddles and main paddles and auger conveyor and pump means.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for driving includes a main drive shaft having a `iirst sprocket for driving said pump means and auger conveyor and a second sprocket for driving said premix- Ying paddles and main paddles, said means for driving further including a clutch means adapted to operate the pump means andauger conveyor and the pump means and auger conveyor in conjunction with the premixer paddles and main paddles.

3. An apparatus for applying a coating o-f heavy, thick material comprising:

a spray assembly means including a baie with an orice therein and an aperture in spaced xed relation-ship with said orifice;

means for supplying a compressed fluid to said aperture;

a premixing chamber rota-table mounted and having an open top;

premixing paddles rotatable mounted within said premixing chamber;

a main mixing compartment located directly below said premixing chamber and in communication with said premixing compartment; means for rotating said premixing chamber approximately one-half a revolution to invert the open top to the bottom -to dump material within the premixing compartment into the main mixing compartment; y an auger conveyor adjacent the lower portion of said main mixing compartment and in communication with the main mixing compartment; main paddles rotatably mounted within said main compartment and adapted to force material within said main compartment into said auger conveyor; pump means connected to ahe auger conveyor and adapted to receive material directly from the auger conveyor; means for connecting said pump means to said orifice; means for driving said premixing paddles and main paddles and auger conveyor and pump means; and means for positioning said spray assembly.

4. An apparatus according to clai1n3 wherein said means for positioning said spray assembly includes:

a post;

a boom having an inside section pivotably and rotatably connected at one end to said post and an outside section retractable connected to the end of said inside section remote from the outside section;

means for raising and lowering and rotating said spray assembly pivotably connected to the end of said outside section remote from the inside section;

meansfor rotating said boomvabout said post in a horizontal plane and for pivoting said boom about said post in a vertical plane and for retracting and extending said out-side section in relation to said inside section and for pivoting said electrically controlled means in a vertical plane; and

means including two parallel pipes for connecting said spray assembly with said electrically controlled means, said two parallel pipes .being partially c-oextensive with said means for supplying. a compressed fluid to said aperture and with saidmeans for connecting said pump means to said oriiice.

5. An apparatus for applying a coating of heavy, thick material comprising:

a flat plate having an orice therein, said flat plate having one rounded end and one square end and an axis of symmetry approximately passing through the .center of said orifice;

means having an aperture therein with a longitudinal axis, said aperture and said at plate being in a xed spaced relationship, said longitudinal axis of said aperture and said axis of symmetry lying substantially in a common plane, said longitudinal axis -of said aperture being approximately directed at the point of intersection of the periphery of the orifice and the axis of symmetry adjacent said square end, said axis of symmetry from the rounded end to said point of intersection forming an obtuse angle with said longitudinal axis of said aperture; said longitudinal axis of said aperture intersecting said at plate at substantially right angles in a plane including said longitudinal axis lof said aperture and being atsubstantially right angles to said common plane;

support means for holding said llat plate and aperture in a xed spaced relationship, said support means having an air conduit therein connecting with said `aperture and a material conduit therein connecting with said ori-tice;

an air pipe connected to said air conduit;

a material pipe connected to said material conduit, said air pipe and material pipe being closely spaced and parallel to one another;

a premixing chamber rotatbly mounted and having an open top;

premixing paddles rotatable mounted Within said premixing chamber;

a main mixing compartment located directly below said premixing compartment and in communication With said premixing compartment;

means for rotating said premixing chamber approximately one-half a revolution to invert the open top to the bott-om to dump material within the premixing compartment into the main mixing compartment;

an auger conveyor adjacent the lower portion of said main mixing compartment :and in communication with the main mixing compartment;

main paddles rotatably mounted within said main compartment and adapted to force material within said main compartment into said auger;

pump means connected to the auger conveyor and adapted to receive material directly from the auger conveyor;

means for driving said premixing paddles and main paddles and auger and pump means, said means Ifor driving including a main drive shaft having a rst sprocket for driving said pump means and auger and a second sprocket for driving said premixing paddles and main paddles, said means for driving further including a clutch means adapted to operate the pump means and auger conveyor solely and the pump means and auger in conjunction with the premixing paddles and main paddles;

a post;

a mounting means for mounting said premixing chamber and said main compartment and said auger conveyor and said pump and said post and said means for driving;

a boom having an inside section pivotably and rotatably connected at one end to said post and an outside section retractable connected to the end of said inside section remote 4from said post;

a support cylinder pivotably connected to the end of said outside section remote from said inside section;

an inner cylinder rigidly encasing said air pipe and material pipe 'and being slideably and rotatably tted within said support cylinder;

a drive means including .a rs-t hydraulic motor secured to said outer cylinder for slideably moving said inner cylinder within said outer cylinder;

a drive means including a second hydraulic motor secured to said outer cylinder for rotating said inner cylinder within said outer cylinder;

means including hydraulic cylinders for rotating said boom about said post in a horizontal plane and for pivoting said boom about said post in a vertical v plane and for retracting and extending said outside section in relation to said inside section and for pivoting said support cylinder in `a vertical plane, said hydraulic means including a hydraulic pump connected to said means for driving;

a flexible material hose connected to said pump and to said material pipe; and

a flexible air hose connected to said air pipe for supplying compressed air to said air pipe.

6. A spray assembly for usey with an apparatus for `applying a coating of heavy, thick -material comprising:

a plate having an orifice therein, said plate having an inside end and an outside end, and a longitudinal axis approximately passing through the center of said orice; and

means having an aperture therein with a longitudinal axis, said aperture and said plate being in a ilxed spaced relationship, said longitudinal axis of said aperture and said longitudinal axis of the plate lying substantially in `a common plane, said longitudinal axis of said aperture being approximately directed at the point of intersection of the periphery of the orifice and the longitudinal axis of the plate adjacent said inside end, said longitudinal axis of the plate from the outside end to said point of intersection forming an obtuse angle with said longitudinal axis of said aperture, said longitudinal axis of said aperture intersecting said plate at -substantially yright angles in a plane including said longitudinal .axis of said aperture and being at substantially right `angles to said comm-on plane.

7. A spray assembly for use with an apparatus for applying a coating o-f heavy, thick material comprising:

a il'at plate having an orifice therein, said orifice having a longitudinal axis at substantially right angles to said llat plate, said ilat plate having one rounded end and one square end and an axis of symmetry approximately passing through said longitudinal axis of said oritlce; and

means having an aperture therein with a longitudinal axis, said aperture and said plate being in a xed space relationship, said longitudinal axis of said aperture and said longitudinal axis of said oririce and said axis of symmetry lying substantially in a common plane, said longitudinal axis of said aperture being approximately directed at the point of intersection of the periphery of the orifice and the axis of symmetry adjacent said square end, said axis of symmetry from the rounded end to said point of intersection forming an obtuse angle with said longitudinal axis of said aperture.

8. A spray assembly according -to claim 7 wherein said obtuse angle is within a range of to 150 degrees.

9. A spray assembly according to claim 7 wherein said obtuse angle is approximately degrees.

10. An apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said obtuse angle is approximately 128 degrees.

thick material comprising:

a baille having an orifice therein, said baille having an outside end and an inside end;

means for delivering a compressed lluid, said means having an aperture therein with a longitudinal axis, said aperture and said baille being in a xed spaced relationship, said longitudinal axis of said aperture being approximately directed to a point of intersection on theV periphery of the orifice adjacent said baille from said -outside end to said point of intersection forming an obtuse angle with said longitudinal axis of said aperture; and

means for lforcing a heavy, thick material through said orice from the end opposite from said aperture.

12. An apparatus for applying a coating of heavy,

thick material comprising:

a spray assembly means including a baille with an orifice therein and an aperture in spaced 4fixed relationship with said orifice;

means for supplying a compressed lluid to said aperture;

a mixing means;

an auger conveyor in communication with said mixing means;

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Albrich Z39- 545 Dolan 239-545 Winkler 259-64 Przybyls'ki 212-144 Shano 212-144 Nauta 259--64 10 EVERETT W. KIRBY, Primary Examiner. 

11. AN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A COATING OF HEAVY, THICK MATERIAL COMPRISING: A BAFFLE HAVING AN ORIFICE THEREIN, SAID BAFFLE HAVING AN OUTSIDE END AND AN INSIDE END; MEANS FOR DELIVERING A COMPRESSED FLUID, SAID MEANS HAVING AN APERTURE THEREIN WITH A LONGITUDINAL AXIS, SAID APERTURE AND SAID BAFFLE BEING IN A FIXED SPACED RELATIONSHIP, SAID LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID APERTURE BEING APPROXIMATELY DIRECTED TO A POINT OF INTERSECTION ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE ORIFICE ADJACENT SAID BAFFLE FROM SAID OUTSIDE END OF SAID POINT OF INTERSECTION FORMING AN OBTUSE ANGLE WITH SAID LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID APERTURE; AND MEANS FOR FORCING A HEAVY, THICK MATERIAL THROUGH SAID ORIFICE FROM THE END OPPOSITE FROM SAID APERTURE. 